Playing the dame (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Playing the dame

9:45am Friday 14th December 2007

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DONNING a pair of brightly coloured tights, wearing larger-than-life wigs and swamping your face in make-up may not seem like the preferred choice of costume for every male actor, but actor Mark Oldknow says he's looking forward to appearing in precisely that.

For Mark is taking up the role of Widow Twankey in Aladdin, this year's panto offering from Tight Fit Theatre.

"I always seem to get taken over by this completely mad woman, who is extremely loud and plenty of fun."

Mark Oldknow

Mark, who is more usually known for directing productions from the successful Beaconsfield theatre company, tells me he "can't wait to get out there", when the show finally opens at the Curzon Centre next Sunday.

"I absolutely love doing panto. It's my favourite job of the year," says Mark excitedly. "I hate the rehearsals, I just want to get out there and do it already. I'm really looking forward to that."

No stranger to playing the panto dame, having shown off his talents in previous productions over the years, Mark's take on Widow Twankey promises to be "big, brash and naughty."

He adds laughingly: "I always seem to get taken over by this completely mad woman, who is extremely loud and plenty of fun."

This year Mark will be supported by a select number of local talents, including Kate Kennedy, a former participant of the Wycombe Swan Youth Project, who takes up the mantle of Aladdin. At a height of 6ft 2ins, Mark anecdotally tells me that Kate is "the tallest principal girl we've ever had."

The cast also features Beaconsfield Theatre Group's Richard Amonoo as Abanazer; former mayor of Beaconsfield Paul Henry as the Emperor; Tight Fit veterans Joe Eyre as Wishy Washee and Beth Eyre as Princess Jasmine; as well as Josie Ayres as the Genie of the Ring.

Not one to tinker with the traditional, Mark has mostly stayed faithful to the classic panto, but tells me he has made some changes to the character of the Genie, played by Gareth Webb. "You can have all the booing and the hissing and the slapstick, but you can still make small alterations," says Mark. "So this time round we have the genie not as someone big and powerful, but rather slim and slender. And instead of making him omnipotent, we've gone for someone who's actually a little bit stupid and forlorn.

"By not making it too prescriptive, we're hoping to keep it interesting."

Together with a medley of songs young and old will love, which have been selected from such shows as Avenue Q, High School Musical, Hairspray and My Fair Lady, Mark says Aladdin is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

"We've put plenty of time, effort and energy into this show, to ensure the audience is having as much fun as us," adds Mark. "And we really believe they deserve that."

Aladdin runs from Friday, December 21 to Sunday, December 23 at the Curzon Centre, Maxwell Road, Beaconsfield. Performances Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday and Sunday, 2pm and 5.30pm. Tickets: 01494 677236

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